Dear Committee members, Friends and Supporters, I would like to start by thanking everyone who has supported the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children over the past 12 months namely our benefactors, sponsors, members of the public and a large special thank you to our volunteer taxi drivers and committee members – all those who give up their time so generously for without whom, none of our trips to the seaside or zoo could take place. I would also like to say thank you to Her Majesty Queen Camilla for her gracious ongoing patronage of our charity and we hope to work together to produce something special for our 100th Anniversary in 2028.
I would like to make a very special mention about Simeos “Sim” Yiannikaris, our friend and fellow committee member who sadly passed away in 2025. Sim had been a big part of this charity since 1994 having held many positions during the past 30 years, including that of Chairman and Treasurer, and he continues to be sorely missed by us all.
Throughout 2025 the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children have again been very productive in the activities and events that we have enabled young disabled and special needs unit children to become involved with. We are very proud that we have made it possible for the children from the Stephen Hawkings School in East London that cannot come to our big annual events like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and the convoy to the Hertfordshire Zoo, to have entertainers and jugglers go to them instead. The charity will endeavour to continue doing this and will try to come up with new events and ideas that will benefit the children.
In June we held our annual Summer Outing to Hertfordshire zoo for the third year running. We had received such good feedback and encouragement from the drivers and schools involved over recent years, and we are pleased to confirm that we will be returning again on Wednesday 8th July 2026. Once again, ASDA on the Isle of Dogs will be sectioning off a large section of their car park for us and will provide breakfast for our drivers before they leave, and hopefully this year we will be getting new drivers involved as well as our long-standing driver team.
We held our annual Mad Hatter’s Tea Party on Sunday 18th January and we are truly grateful to the management and staff at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane for going above and beyond to accommodate all our needs for the day, and also a very big thank you has to go to all the volunteers helpers and all committee family members who turn out to make it a successful day from early morning into late evening. We had around 700 children, 300 carers and teachers who enjoyed the entertainment from the singers, dance troops, face painters and magicians and this year the Welsh Guards who put on a full 20-minute performance in all of their regalia for the children’s pleasure. This year we were lucky enough to have large donations of toys from several large toy companies, so the children left our grotto with
an armful of toys.
Throughout 2025 the charity has been involved in several large appeals to help make life easier for those attending SEND units, including two fully equipped sensory rooms at the Leverton School and Hatton School enabling the children to interact in various ways using hearing and visual aids. We also bought a trike for a young lad with special attachments so he can go out with his family, and communications boards for Mount Stewart School to help children interact with each other and their teachers. We also purchased pottery and a kiln for a special needs unit in the north of London, a water sports kit for the sailing centre so children can get out, get active, and build upon their confidence, and we also purchased an outdoor garden project for the Crofton School to help children learn about bugs and nature.
I have had the opportunity over the past year to go on GB News TV and radio to help promote the charity and to try and encourage new drivers to come and be part of our convoy to the zoo. I must also say a big thank you to GB News for their Calendar competition where all monetary profits from the sale of their calendars are being donated to our charity. I would like to say a big thank you to all of our benefactors who have helped us throughout the year because without their help and donations we would never be able to help the children that we do – every penny raised goes directly to help those children who are not as fortunate as our own.
I would like to finish by saying thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart again – that’s the committee, volunteer helpers, benefactors and especially my wife again for without her help and backing I would not be able to commit the time and effort to the charity work. I’m again looking forward to a successful year for 2026 as Chairman of the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children and hope that all drivers that attend our events encourage other drivers to join in so we can invite more children and make events bigger and better for the future.
